Newspaper suspended for two months

Guinea’s National Communications Council (known as the CNC) suspended La Croisade, a private publication published in the capital, Conakry, for two months starting on July 19. According to local journalists and the Media Foundation for West Africa, the suspension stemmed from an article linking the theft of two suitcases belonging to President Lansana Conté and the death of the president’s driver from an apparent heart attack.

“The theft of two of the president’s suitcases... has provoked several contradictory debates,” stated the article, which was published without a byline. “According to certain rumors from those who claim to be close to the president, the general [Conté] said out loud, ’may he who took the suitcase never open it. And if ever he opens it, his life will end there.’”

In its order suspending La Croisade, the CNC accused the paper of publishing false information and of “attacking the honor of a deceased person.”